By Antonis Loizou
A. Loizou & Associates
Quantity Surveyors and Development Managers
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The job of the Project Manager (P.M.) is well known in most of the developed countries and the need for such an added consultant’s job in the building industry, arose as a result of the increasing complexity of buildings, the higher and higher cost and the more sophisticated mode of work by the various contractors/sub-contractors and suppliers.
In addition, the lack of time by the owners and/or the non devotion of the needed time by the technical staff involved, the increasing complexity of buildings and the fine timing of development-funding, have also caused the need to have a general coordinator and more of a full time employee for the job.
The P.M. must be, in our view, a charismatic person with respect to building management. As in any management position, a university degree by itself will not secure the successful execution of a project. The Cypriot P.M. must primarily coordinate not only the several consultants that are involved in a project, but also administer the Cypriot methodology of construction, making sure that the numerous sub-contractors and suppliers will be deliver on time and operate in harmony with the main contractor. The erection of a building has a strong labour force and it is estimated that approximately 40% of the cost of a building is labour and 60% is materials. As such the human element becomes very important.
The Cypriot P.M., in a summary, has to:
(a) coordinate all consultants, so that the various drawings and specifications are produced on time and have full details;
(b) examine such drawings and make sure that these reflect the client’s requirements and budget cost;
(c) seek tenders, negotiate and suggest to the client the most suitable contractor, suppliers and sub-contractors;
(d) chair site meetings and keep a constant watch upon the development process, keeping records, minutes, etc. and in general administer the construction process;
(e)Â be responsible for the quality control of work executed and materials, in parallel with the supervising architect;
(f)Â liaise with the public authorities for the supply of public services and sort out any problems/delays;
(g) coordinate with the financiers and vet payment certificates to the bank in conjunction with the project Quantity Surveyor;
(h) to deliver the project within the time and budget originally set and provide the client with alternatives if there are cost/time overruns;
(j) to secure the final certificate of approval/title deeds by the authorities, including the follow up of the red tape needed for the title issue.
The use of the P.M. in the
The P.M. is especially appropriate for the offshore/foreign clients, who are not aware (neither have the time) of the local details/ conditions in the building process and should at the end of the day save considerable costs and reduce the owner’s headaches (and everybody’s else).
As a rule of thumb, from our own experience, the client should save 2-5 times the P.M. fee, if the P.M. is reasonably successful. The average cost of a P.M. is approximately CYP 500-1500 per month depending on the size of the project and the required service. If for example, the client requires the P.M. to retain a full time site agent and a quality controller, you must appreciate that the costs will rise. For larger projects you can estimate a fee of 1%-2% on the total cost.
